With out that special someone in your life you have no one to bounce ideas off or if you do meet some one you can over whelm them with all your ideas and then they think you are a NUTTY PROFESSOR and you end up being miss understood.

Through out my last 4 years when I come up with my first idea I had some in my life but she was not really interested in what I was trying to achieve for us and so fell away.

One of the only things I have ever wanted in these last few years was just to have that special someone for help and support through the ups and downs not of this world / business but of your mind.

So to me if you can find that someone that has a common interest it can help.
But I would advise that if you do already have that special person in your life I would make time for them as you do your ideas/product/business cause in the end you just may end up single and lonely and all the hard work is for nothing or no one to share the spoils with.

An unattached person is likely to be young. Yet if it’s a potential big investment, it’d be nicer to have someone with a bit more experience (a previous smaller startup done, for instance). Contradiction! It creates an indirect dependency that actually hinders the original objectives.

Also, while focus is nice, people who are in a relationship can often bring additional maturity and perspective to a venture. That’s very valuable also.

This post was mentioned on Twitter by IPitchAU: Aussie invented Spouse 2.0 day is coming recognizing widows of our startups. Is there room for love in startups? http://bit.ly/1opbzv...

I think often when you’re running a start-up other parts of your life do tend to be stretched.. And if they don’t, frankly, you’re probably not spending enough time on your start up.

However, with that said, when it all comes off to a massive exit the ones around you tend to share in the new found riches. So in some way, the start-up is everyones investment.

In the event that the exit never comes… Like the entrepreneur, those around the start-up have also learned many new lessons. One may be to find a partner with a steady job and time to watch TV at night.

So it’s a win win for all.

So I don’t think Nick is advocating dysfunctional or absent relationships, he’s just laying out his ideal criteria for investment. If you have a great investment opportunity for him but you also happen to have a commitment to your partner or kids to fulfill, it’s not going to disqualify you, it’s just something you’ll need to make clear upfront and speak honestly about.

Certainly my own priorities and work/life balance have changed since I became a husband and father but maybe (I hope) the nature of the contribution I make to a startup changes from “energy and time” to “experience and wisdom” (OK, “wisdom” may be stretching it, but something related to it.)

There’s more than one way to earn a VC his 50x exit.

Still, I wouldn’t have it any other way, we get to spend a lot of time together and she’s fantastic to work with!